Nehemiah 13:2

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them.(Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Deut 23:5 : 5 But the LORD your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed the curse to a blessing, for the LORD your God loves you.
  • Josh 24:9-9 : 9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment on you. 10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept prophesying good things about you, and I rescued you from his power.
  • Ps 109:28 : 28 They curse, but you will bless. When they attack, they will be humiliated, but your servant will rejoice.
  • Mic 6:5 : 5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, how Balaam son of Beor responded to him. Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal, so you might acknowledge that the LORD has treated you fairly.”
  • Matt 25:40 : 40 And the king will answer them,‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’
  • Num 22:3-9 : 3 And the Moabites were greatly afraid of the people, because they were so numerous. The Moabites were sick with fear because of the Israelites. 4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian,“Now this mass of people will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field.” Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time. 5 And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying,“Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me. 6 So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.” 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak. 8 He replied to them,“Stay here tonight, and I will bring back to you whatever word the LORD may speak to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said,“Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God,“Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent a message to me, saying, 11 “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out.”
  • Num 23:8-9 : 8 How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the LORD has not denounced? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let the end of my life be like theirs.” 11 Balaam Relocates Then Balak said to Balaam,“What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!”
  • Num 23:18 : 18 Balaam Prophesies Again Balaam uttered his oracle, and said,“Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor:
  • Num 24:5-9 : 5 ‘How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwelling places, O Israel! 6 They are like valleys stretched forth, like gardens by the river’s side, like aloes that the LORD has planted, and like cedar trees beside the waters. 7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, and their descendants will be like abundant water; their king will be greater than Agag, and their kingdom will be exalted. 8 God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull; they will devour hostile people and will break their bones and will pierce them through with arrows. 9 They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’” 10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam,“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times!

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Deut 23:4-5
    2 verses
    86%

    4for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

    5But the LORD your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed the curse to a blessing, for the LORD your God loves you.

  • Num 22:9-14
    6 verses
    80%

    9And God came to Balaam and said,“Who are these men with you?”

    10Balaam said to God,“Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent a message to me, saying,

    11“Look, a nation has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out.”

    12But God said to Balaam,“You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

    13So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak,“Go to your land, for the LORD has refused to permit me to go with you.”

    14So the princes of Moab departed and went back to Balak and said,“Balaam refused to come with us.”

  • Num 23:11-13
    3 verses
    78%

    11Balaam Relocates Then Balak said to Balaam,“What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!”

    12Balaam replied,“Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?”

    13Balak said to him,“Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

  • Num 23:25
    77%

    25Balaam Relocates Yet Again Balak said to Balaam,“Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

  • Josh 24:9-10
    2 verses
    77%

    9Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment on you.

    10I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept prophesying good things about you, and I rescued you from his power.

  • Num 22:5-7
    3 verses
    77%

    5And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying,“Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

    6So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

    7So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak.

  • Num 24:1-2
    2 verses
    77%

    1Balaam Prophesies Yet Again When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at the other times to seek for omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

    2When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

  • Neh 13:1
    76%

    1Further Reforms by Nehemiah On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

  • Num 23:27-28
    2 verses
    75%

    27Balak said to Balaam,“Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.”

    28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wastelands.

  • Num 24:10
    75%

    10Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam,“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times!

  • Num 23:7-8
    2 verses
    75%

    7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying,“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying,‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’

    8How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the LORD has not denounced?

  • Num 31:16
    74%

    16Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the LORD in the matter of Peor– which resulted in the plague among the community of the LORD!

  • Josh 13:22
    73%

    22The Israelites killed Balaam son of Beor, the omen reader, along with the others.

  • Num 22:16-18
    3 verses
    73%

    16And they came to Balaam and said to him,“Thus says Balak son of Zippor:‘Please do not let anything hinder you from coming to me.

    17For I will honor you greatly, and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.’”

    18Balaam replied to the servants of Balak,“Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment of the LORD my God to do less or more.

  • Num 23:2
    72%

    2So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each altar a bull and a ram.

  • Num 22:39-41
    3 verses
    72%

    39So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

    40And Balak sacrificed bulls and sheep, and sent some to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him.

    41Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. From there he saw the extent of the nation.

  • Num 23:16-17
    2 verses
    72%

    16Then the LORD met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said,“Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”

    17When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him,“What has the LORD spoken?”

  • Num 22:2
    72%

    2Balak son of Zippor saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites.

  • Num 24:12
    71%

    12Balaam said to Balak,“Did I not also tell your messengers whom you sent to me,

  • Neh 13:3
    70%

    3When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry.

  • Num 23:5
    70%

    5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said,“Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”

  • 2 Pet 2:15
    70%

    15By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

  • Judg 2:11
    70%

    11A Monotonous Cycle The Israelites did evil before the LORD by worshiping the Baals.

  • Judg 11:25
    70%

    25Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?

  • Num 22:20
    70%

    20God came to Balaam that night, and said to him,“If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them, but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.”

  • Josh 22:33
    69%

    33The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived.